Adapting to a New Market
We are all aware of changes in technology, economy, and the way we connect. When developing a marketing plan, you must come to the realization that the times have changed, and adapt accordingly. A methodology that has worked for you in the past may not be as relevant today. When you begin planning, it is important to take many factors into consideration. Develop your plan, a systematic examination, as well as alternative strategies for marketing your product and ideas. First let’s take a look at some changes that are most recent in our society.
Changes in Economy and Technology
In Marketing Management Magazine, an article was written by John Frank and Gordon Wyner called, Now is the Time for Marketing to Embrace Change. In this article, they spot light Jon Iwata, CMO of IBM, and discuss how Jon adapts marketing around the change of technology and the economy. Jon Iwata was asked questions about his concerns with the economy in light of the recession. All of his answers were very positive and hopeful. He began to explain that although the economy is suffering people are still adapting to the change. He continued to explain that changes in technology have changed how companies do business with each other but they also provide a wonderful opportunity for transformation. Although the economy has suffered, social media was more widely accepted due to its low cost, which led to a new innovative way to communicate with other businesses, employees, and customers. Jon explained how companies adapted in the past by saying, “In the same ways that companies in the 1990s embraced the World Wide Web and flooded the Web with Websites and content, companies will begin to flood the web with their people in 2010.” Whether the economy inspired or brought light to social media, it is still a tool for our success and we can choose to embrace it. Social media is history repeating itself and it all starts with adapting to change.
Let Go and Move Forward
It is time to truly let go of old campaigns and embrace new innovative ideas. The fundamentals will not necessarily change but your approach should be very different. Start by becoming comfortable with developing new ideas and craft your marketing goals around benefiting your targeting audience. Fred Geyer wrote an article called Paths To Purchase, where he says, “Most successful marketers agree that achieving outstanding results requires tailoring marketing programs to the ways consumers make purchase decisions and adopt new products in their category.” Develop your plan around the way consumers make decisions. In the past we pushed products, price, place, and promotion to develop our strategies and campaigns but it is time we develop our plan around lasting, longtime relationships, partnerships, and connections. Many marketers and advertisers feel uncertainty and approach their campaigns in fear of taking a risk. When new things arise and are not fully developed they can be a risk, or a new opportunity to reconstruct an industry and push businesses and consumers a little bit closer.
Socially Accepted Marketing
What are your customers saying? What are their needs? What could they benefit from your company? How would they like to know about your products? Not sure, well why not just ask them. Social networking is a tool to ask the questions needed to develop your ideas further. Adapt to the change by first asking then planning. So, to sum it all up, do not fear the change but adapt and use changes in society, technology and economy to your benefit.
